Chapter 22: Please Wait
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=2188414
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
After Gu Cen finished speaking, Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo finally understood the cause and effect.
Ruan Yesheng encouraged Gu Cen: "You did nothing wrong from beginning to end. Don't pay attention to what people say online. They don't understand at all."
Xi Mo nodded: "Don't doubt yourself because of this."
Gu Cen was touched and said, "I'm relieved that you're willing to believe in me."
Her eyes shone brightly, like she had gotten some candy and had been comforted. She said, "As for those trolls online, at first I was so angry I almost exploded. Why did they say those things about me? The more I thought about it, the more upset I became, so I ran to Li Siran and cried my eyes out. No matter what, I suffered for Li Siran's sake. If it weren't for her lousy father, would I have had to suffer like this? But I'm fine now, hehe. I'm even happier that you came to see me."
As she spoke, a suspicious blush crept onto her cheeks.
Infected by the light in Gu Cen's eyes, Ruan Yesheng couldn't help but smile, thinking that Li Siran must have coaxed her.
Xi Mo said to Gu Cen: “Have you thought about finding someone to handle public relations? Since the whole story is clear, you can clear up the rumors and reveal the truth at the same time.”
Gu Cen said, "My sister and brother have that idea, they also have connections. However, if we really want to carry it out, we will inevitably have to put Li Siran's affairs online. So I told them not to deal with it yet and to ask Li Siran's opinion first. But I haven't had time to discuss it with Li Siran yet."
Xi Mo was relieved and said, "Okay. If you encounter any problems during the process, you can also come to me. Lu Qingming is very good at doing these things, so let him help you. This way, you can also free up some time and mood to go on a trip with Gu Ru. Don't look at things online for now, just enjoy the trip."
Gu Cen was so touched she almost wanted to hug Xi Mo’s thigh. While they were talking, Li Siran came back. The moment she opened the door, she quickly greeted them: “Sister Ruanruan, Sister Xi, sorry, I went to the rooftop to dry things and came back late.”
“We just arrived too,” Ruan Yesheng said with a smile.
Li Siran quickly came over to take a look and saw that Gu Cen had served fruit, drinks, and snacks. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully she hadn't neglected the guest. She glanced at Gu Cen, who was staring straight at her with smug eyes, as if she were asking for her praise: "How was it? I did a pretty good job, didn't I? I cut the fruit and served the drinks. Don't worry about it."
The fruit was cut rather crudely, but Li Siran felt it was quite an achievement for Gu Cen. She nodded at Gu Cen, their eyes met, creating a youthful and sweet atmosphere.
"Would you like some tea? I have some new tea leaves here, a gift from a friend. I tried them and they're quite good," Li Siran asked, noticing that Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo didn't seem to drink much beverage.
Gu Cen doesn't like tea, but prefers chilled fruit juice. Li Siran's refrigerator is full of Gu Cen's favorite drinks. Li Siran always buys them in advance and keeps them there so that Gu Cen can take them whenever she wants.
Ruan Yesheng laughed: "This is enough for now. Don't waste things. We'll sit for a while and then leave."
"Aren't you staying for lunch?" Li Siran said, "I was thinking of going to buy groceries later and cooking lunch for you."
"Leaving so soon?" Gu Cen was also a little disappointed.
Seeing this, Ruan Yesheng didn't want to take up their time alone, so she said, "Siran's cooking is so delicious, of course we want to stay, but we have to catch our flight and don't have time. We can have a meal together next time we come back, there's plenty of time then."
"Okay then, let us meet next time.” Li Siran could only say.
The four chatted at Li Siran's house for a while. Seeing that it was almost time, Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo said goodbye to the two young girls and left.
Li Siran had been busy washing blankets, bedsheets, clothes, and other things before. The house had also been messed up last night, and part of it was still not cleaned up. She truly didn’t have a moment to rest and immediately started tidying up again. Gu Cen did nothing and just wandered beside her, walking around here and there. Sometimes she even wrapped her arms around Li Siran’s waist and touched her all over, giggling. Li Siran was amused by her and couldn't help smiling. She said: “Stop fooling around, I am all sweaty.”
“I think you smell pretty nice.” Gu Cen wanted to touch her and spoke without any restraint.
Gu Cen wasn't doing any work, so naturally she wasn't sweating. Instead, she smelled sweet and soft, like a little cake. Li Siran couldn't resist and leaned over to kiss her. Gu Cen was overjoyed and immediately returned the kiss.
When Li Siran got to the bathroom and saw the state of the countertop, her vision instantly darkened. “You… why didn't you clean this up? Before I went to dry the blankets, didn't I tell you to hurry and clean this up? What if someone saw it?”
Gu Cen also got startled and guiltily said: “I did remember at first. But something happened, and after this and that, I… I forgot.”
“You clearly knew Sister Ruanruan and Sister Xi were coming this morning, and you still forgot?” Li Siran became anxious and worried. “Do you think they saw it?”
Gu Cen knew she was in the wrong, but she still said, "Don't overthink it. Even if they saw it, it doesn't matter. They're both straight women, they wouldn't understand at all, okay? They won't think in that direction.”
"How do you know they won't understand?” The more Li Siran thought about it, the angrier she became. “I was too busy at the time, I only asked you to put it away. It would have taken just a moment.”
"But I didn't understand it before? I used to be straight. Even if you put all this right in front of me, I still wouldn't understand. If you didn't tell me, how was I supposed to know what to do, how to disinfect, how to handle it?" Gu Cen retorted confidently. "Besides, why did you prepare all this at home? Have you been wanting to sleep with me for a long time?"
Li Siran: "..."
Finding that Li Siran remained silent, Gu Cen felt increasingly aggrieved: "You were just kissing me a moment ago, but now you changed your face faster than flipping a book. You slept with me last night, and this morning too. Shouldn't you be affectionate toward me? I only forgot to clean up and you scold me, why? Your skill is not even good. Did I say anything about you?”
Li Siran’s face instantly turned red. “Wasn’t that because I have no experience? Who is good the first time?”
Gu Cen got even angrier. “You say it like I had experience? I never dated before either. Before last night, I had never even kissed anyone. If my sister finds out that a good cabbage like me got taken*, she will definitely be furious.”
*In reference to 好白菜被猪拱了(Hǎo báicài bèi zhū gǒngle) A good cabbage getting eaten by a pig. - Someone good/good-looking ending up with or getting ruined by a scumbag/someone ugly.
Li Siran was also stunned for a moment, then lowered her head, not even realizing that Gu Cen had called her a pig.
The next second she realized and said, "Look at you, you can't even speak properly. I'm not a pig! I'm a cabbage too."
"Alright, alright, you're a cabbage, you're a cabbage. Anyway, don’t make excuses for your poor skill. There must be people whose first time is good.”
The more Gu Cen thought about it, the less she could swallow this anger. Li Siran’s lousy skill was not even that comfortable.
Li Siran had almost wanted to surrender, but after hearing that, she still couldn’t hold back. “That’s impossible. If it is possible, then they must have secretly studied in advance and carefully planned it. I don't have that kind of deep scheming.”
The two argued like elementary school kids.
Gu Cen even deliberately used a mocking tone. “Of course not, not that much scheming. But someone still bought the things needed beforehand.”
Li Siran blushed deeply and hurriedly apologized. “I was wrong. Okay, if you didn't clean up, then you didn't clean up. It's not like anyone lost a piece of flesh.”
Seeing her apologize, Gu Cen softened immediately and comforted her. “Stop worrying, really no one would notice. Either they wouldn’t understand or they wouldn’t see it. Your place is so small, no one comes here except me. In the future, even if you leave it on the sofa, it will be fine.”
Li Siran: "..." Was that supposed to be comforting?
But there was no helping it. At least Gu Cen thought it was comfort. Luckily, Gu Cen was easy to coax. Not long after, her anger disappeared. Hugging Li Siran, she swayed her a little and said stop cleaning for now, she still wanted to try again later.
Li Siran wanted to laugh inside, but said: “Wasn’t it a poor skill? No trying again.”
Gu Cen muttered: “I am giving you, Cabbage, a chance. If your skill is bad, practice more.”
Li Siran: “…”
Holding Gu Cen in her arms, she thought that from now on she would do everything herself, and she wouldn't let Gu Cen do even the smallest thing. No matter how urgent the matter was, it had to go through her hands.
After all, if you leave it to others, you can relax.
If you leave it to Gu Cen, you will worry.
….
Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo returned to Shanghai and began their vacation. Yan Tinghuan hadn't come back, Shen Qingbie had gone filming, Yu An wasn't around either, and although Cui Jiayu was in Shanghai, she was always busy with cases. So Ruan Yesheng invited Lin Tingyu and Lin Tingshuang to gather together.
Since receiving help from Lin Tingyu on New Year's Eve, Ruan Yesheng and Lin Tingyu have become closer, chatting frequently and visiting each other's homes whenever they have free time.
This gathering was also arranged at the sisters’ home. Ruan Yesheng and Lin Tingyu cooked in the kitchen, while Xi Mo helped nearby. Sometimes Lin Tingshuang calls out “A’Ting,” and if Ruan Yesheng isn't paying attention, for a while she couldn't tell whether she meant Lin Tingyu or the cat Lin Tingyu had brought home before.
During dinner, they talked about Gu Cen's recent online activities. Lin Tingyu, who works for "Nanting Entertainment," naturally knew about these things and said, "Our company has taken on the task of refuting these rumors and public relations. We've already been compiling the materials, and we'll release them across the internet when the time is right."
Ruan Yesheng was a little stunned. Not long ago, Gu Cen said she would discuss it with Li Siran to see if she would agree. How could they have already discussed it so quickly and even prepared the materials?
Lin Tingyu said, "Li Siran came to me directly. She knows I have a good relationship with you two and said she wouldn't trust anyone else with this job. So, I guess I got this job because of you two. Come eat at my house more often so I can borrow some more reputation.”
“When did she contact you?” Xi Mo asked.
When Lin Tingyu told them the specific time, the two were even more surprised. This was before they went to Li Siran's house, which meant that not long after Gu Cen's incident went viral online, Li Siran went to see Lin Tingyu.
However, Gu Cen doesn't seem to know yet; it appears Li Siran hasn't told her and wants to handle it herself. Judging from Li Siran's personality, she definitely feels it's her own responsibility. If she hadn't dragged Gu Cen into this, this wouldn't have happened. As for the most compelling evidence, only Li Siran could provide it.
“It must cost a lot, right?” Ruan Yesheng understood and asked Lin Tingyu.
She had heard Gu Cen say Li Siran was very frugal and saving money to buy a house, so she could not help worrying.
“It is pretty expensive.” Lin Tingyu noticed Ruan Yesheng’s concern and said: “Li Siran’s situation is special. Her company exploits her, and her so-called father blackmails her. It isn't easy for her, so I gave her a discount. But the company has other shareholders too. I can only say I didn't take my own share this time, there is nothing I can do about the rest.”
“When the bill comes, give her another discount based on the final amount.” Xi Mo said. “I will make up the discounted part for you. Don't let her know. Later, if Lu Qingming has suitable work, I will ask him to connect with your company.”
Lin Tingyu smiled. “Okay, leave it to me. Don't worry. By then, even if that person had ten lives, he wouldn't dare ask Li Siran for money again.”
The two of them naturally trusted Lin Tingyu to handle things.
Worried that Lin Tingshuang might be bored, Ruan Yesheng asked, "Tingshuang, would you like to go to the concert? I'll ask them to find you some comfortable seats so you don't have to squeeze in."
Lin Tingshuang was very interested and asked expectantly, "Is it okay?"
Ruan Yesheng looked at Lin Tingyu and smiled, "Tingyu, is it alright?"
"Of course," Lin Tingyu said with a smile.
“Then I’ll come with Xi Mo to pick you up and we’ll go together,” Ruan Yesheng said.
“No need.” Lin Tingyu said. “A’Shuang and I will go directly. We can call each other after arriving.”
Ruan Yesheng thought it was a good idea, so they agreed on an approximate time and planned to meet then.
Near the evening before Yan Mu’s concert started, Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo arrived near the concert venue parking lot under Gu Qisong’s escort. The two wanted to wait for the Lin sisters to arrive and enter the venue together, so they hadn’t gone inside yet. Seeing they still had time, they walked around near the venue.
Yan Mu's fans were busy queuing to enter, and not many people were wandering around them. The two walked and talked, while Gu Qisong followed not far away, giving them space.
The sky gradually darkened, and tree shadows blurred around them. The Lin sisters still had not arrived.
“Could they be stuck in traffic?” Ruan Yesheng checked the time and said to Xi Mo.
Xi Mo called Lin Tingyu, but she didn't answer immediately. She then called Lin Tingshuang, but she didn't answer either. The two of them became worried and sent messages to both sisters, asking where they were. If they didn't get a reply in a while, they would have to find a way to ask about the situation.
Just as the two were getting worried, Gu Qisong suddenly walked up to them and whispered, "There's a strange person coming this way. We need to leave now.”
The two felt their hearts sink and slowly turned to look.
The road was rather narrow, lined with lush flowering trees on both sides. In the distance, a hazy figure could be seen. It was quite far away, and it was difficult to see clearly at first glance. All that could be made was that the person seemed to be much taller than ordinary people, and the upper part of the figure resembled some kind of angular rectangular outline, which was quite eerie.
“Hurry, this person is not normal.” Xi Mo quickly said quietly to Ruan Yesheng. “Once we get somewhere safe, we have to call Lin Tingyu again.”
Ruan Yesheng felt cold inside and nodded.
The two quickly walked forward, while Gu Qisong stayed behind to protect them. But when they turned back while moving, that person had followed them.
Even more terrifying, the person moved lightly as if walking on water and in a blink arrived not far behind them.
“Please wait.” The person said.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=2188414
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The voice sounded like soft yet pleasant flowing water, and in a daze, seemed able to steal one’s soul.
The two stopped walking without meaning to. Gu Qisong also stopped, and all of them turned around.
Only then did Ruan Yesheng realize the person was a woman. Before, she could not see clearly and thought the outline looked horrifying. Now she saw clearly that although the woman was tall, she wasn’t strangely tall. It was because she was carrying a huge rectangular box on her back, creating the visual illusion.
But that huge box was pitch black, carved with delicate yet cold strange patterns, as if she was carrying a coffin on her back.
